Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
IntroductIon
Amsterdam, Bruges, and Brussels—the three greatest cities of
the Low Countries—are a delight to experience. Rattling on your
bike over the cobbles, savoring fresh pralines, lingering in flower-
carpeted squares, you'll find a slow-down-and-smell-the-tulips
world that enchants. Any time of year, you can enjoy the intimate
charms of these cities.
Amsterdam is called “the Venice of the North,” both for
its canals and for its past position as an economic powerhouse.
Bruges—once mighty, now mighty cute—comes with fancy beers
in fancy glasses, lilting carillons, and lacy Gothic souvenirs of a
long-gone greatness. Brussels—the capital of Europe, with a low-
rise Parisian ambience—exudes a joie de vivre, from its famous
cuisine to its love of comic topics and chocolate.
Belgium and the Netherlands are called the Low Countries
because nearly half their land is below sea level. Surrounded by
mega-Europe, the Low Countries are easy to overlook. But travel
here is a snap, the area is steeped in history, and all the charm-
ing icons of the region—whirring windmills, Dutch Masters, dike
hikes, one-speed bikes, and ladies tossing bobbins to make fine
lace—line up for you to enjoy. If ever an area were a travel cliché
come true, it's the Low Countries.
This topic covers the predictable biggies in and around
Amsterdam, Bruges, and Brussels—and mixes in a healthy dose
of Back Door intimacy. In Amsterdam, you can see Vincent van
Gogh's
Sunflowers
...and climb through Captain Vincent's tiny
houseboat museum. You'll tour Brussels' ultramodern European
Parliament and enjoy a Michelangelo statue in small-town Bruges.
And you'll meet intriguing people, who will show you how to swal-
low pickled herring, paddle you in a canoe through the
polderland
to a stuck-in-the-mud (and stuck-in-the-past) village, and pop a
